Monday, July 25, 2011

recipe of the week: pasta bolognese

One of the things that I enjoy most is trying out new recipes for my little munchkin.  So I decided that I will share some of my (and Sasha's) favorites weekly.  This recipe for pasta bolognese comes from the Baby Love cookbook.  This meat sauce is full of veggies and very easy to make....plus it will be enough for about 12 to 15 portions, so freeze the rest and defrost as needed and serve with fresh pasta.  It is so yummy you may want to eat some yourself!

Sasha loves the little star pasta, but you can use any other small shape pasta for your little one. Use whole grain pastas to bump up the nutritional value :)


*A little trick that I use when freezing food is that I freeze it in the baby ice cube trays, and then the next day I empty the trays into a freezer zip lock bag.  I label the contents of the bag and the date I made it so that there is no guess-work later.  This way you don't have to buy a ton of the expensive trays and you can have everything labeled clearly :)

Pasta Bolognese
*Yield 42 ounces
*Good for babies 12 months +

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup celery, very small diced
1/4 cup carrot, very small diced
1/2 cup yellow onion, very small diced
8 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
8 ounces ground beef, lean (less than 10% fat)
1 teaspoon tomato paste
28 ounces canned tomatoes, crushed
6 to 8 ounces of water, as needed
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Grated Parmesan cheese, as needed
Cooked pasta

1) Add olive oil to a 4-quart pot over medium-high heat.
2) Add celery, carrot, onion, and garlic.  Sweat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often.  Onion should be translucent and soft.
3) Add ground beef and cook for about 3 minutes until almost cooked through. 
4) Add tomato paste to the pot.  Stir with a spoon so it coats all the vegetables.  Cook another 2 to 3 minutes.
5) Add crushed tomatoes.  Mix together and bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat until you have a slow simmer.  Add water if sauce is really thick.  Stir occasionally and simmer 20 minutes.
6) Add basil and oregano.  Simmer 5 more minutes.
7) Toss 1/2 cup of this sauce with a1/2 cup of cooked pasta and top with Parmesan.

*Before freezing make sure that the sauce has cooled completely.  Do not freeze the sauce with pasta.*

Sunday, July 24, 2011

It's Been 2 Months....Sorry!!!


Hello again.  I will spare you all from having to read the countless excuses that I have made for myself for not posting for the past 2 months......so all you need to know is that I am back and full of enthusiasm (and ideas and new baby products to report on!)  :)  So now that that is out of the way, I MUST fill you in on all that has happened during my hiatus:

1) Sasha is WALKING!
2) She turned one.....and we celebrated :)

Ok, when I started the list I thought that there would be a lot to report, but in all honesty this summer has been full playing outside, barbecuing, weekends with friends......plus running around and cleaning up after Sasha (a neverending, exhausting, and maddening process). 

On another note, 2 months ago I promised you guys pictures from our photoshoot with the amazingly wonderful VZ Moda Photography.  So please enjoy them and make an appointment for your little one IMMEDIATELY :)